


A Matter of Respect

by blynninja



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Female pronouns for Pidge, Hair, I don't know, Other, Randomness, Team Bonding, idk - Freeform, introspective, kind of, respect, shiro gets made fun of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 07:10:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8047123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blynninja/pseuds/blynninja
Summary: Pidge misses having long hair. Long hair proves to be a problem. Shiro has some small issues. Paladin bonding happens eventually. All is well in the end.





	A Matter of Respect

**Author's Note:**

> I... don't even know where half of this came from. You've been warned.  
> Timing is idk however many years you want to make this plausible. There's like a hint of Shidge if you want to make it go that way???? Or it's completely AU and everyone's closer in age. Whatev.

Though she was loath to admit it out loud, sometimes Pidge missed her long hair.

Short hair was more practical, not to mention better for disguising herself as “Pidge,” but there was no reason to hide her identity anymore, not after this Voltron/outer space superheroes thing.

And since there weren’t exactly barbershops in outer space (she hadn’t asked Allura if the castle-ship had some sort of automated hair cut thing, and Allura hadn’t offered), her hair had started to grow out again.

At first it had been annoying, discovering that it was tricky to pull into a ponytail at that short length, and Pidge had staunchly refused to let any of the others cut or style it for her, regardless of their insistence that they knew what they were doing.

Lance and Coran had sulked off the first time she’d rejected their offers, but Allura had simply shrugged in that princess-like way of hers and offered, “If you change your mind, you only have to ask!”

Eventually her hair had gotten long enough to at least pull into a small ponytail or bun, which had been a relief.

Pidge had found that the longer her hair grew, the more she felt like Katie Holt again, and the more determined she became to find her father and brother.

Not that she hadn’t been determined before, but seeing her hair begin to grow again brought back memories she’d buried as Pidge.

The longer her hair grew, she noticed as well, the more the boys (and Allura and Coran, but mostly the other Paladins) began treating her like a girl.

_That_ became something of a sore spot for a while, because Pidge had gotten used to being “one of the guys,” even after revealing the “I’m a girl” secret.

Allura had assured her that it was not all bad to be seen as and treated like a “lady,” and at first Pidge had scoffed.

But the more the boys began treating her with almost more respect than they had before, the more she saw Allura’s point.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t respected her before, exactly, nor had they disrespected her intellect, but they seemed to be a little more cautious of some of the things they said and did around her, which she sometimes appreciated and sometimes did not.

Hunk started asking her opinion more on some of his projects and modifications he wanted to make to Yellow. He had done that before, but now he seemed to ask a little more politely, which Pidge rather appreciated.

Lance began treating her as she suspected he treated all of his sisters and female cousins, and asked her if she needed help or advice instead of just blurting things out—that was nice. Eventually she let him help her with different, easy hairstyles, which he seemed to enjoy more than she did. More often than not, her braids and buns were Lance’s handiwork instead of her own.

Keith seemed hesitant at first to keep sparring with her the longer her hair got, as though he thought her long hair somehow made her more fragile or delicate. It had taken her exactly 42 seconds in a practice match to put him on his butt and prove she could still handle herself, long hair or no.

Shiro had always treated her with respect, as he tended to do with everyone he met, but as her hair grew longer, his protective instincts seemed to kick in more.

Pidge was aware that he had always paid attention to her whereabouts, in part because she tended to fall asleep working on projects or missed Hunk’s or Coran’s calls to meals when she was engrossed in something.

But as her hair grew, so did Shiro’s treatment of her as sort of a sister but almost more like something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Until the day a mission almost went wrong because Pidge took a calculated risk (that ended better than she had calculated, actually) and Shiro barked, “Damnit, Katie! Quit being so reckless! We can’t afford to lose you!”

The comm links were quiet for a moment as everyone absorbed Shiro’s outburst, and eventually Allura’s voice broke the silence.

“This particular battle is won, Paladins. Please return to the castle.”

Pidge followed after the others, making sure that Green was the last to reach its hangar. She took her time in leaving the cockpit and removing her armor, as well as running a few tests to be sure Green was fit for battle once again.

Still, she wasn’t surprised to find Shiro waiting outside Green’s hangar, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall.

“I’m sorry I snapped like that,” her captain began when she paused to face him. “But you really can’t take risks like that, Pidge.”

His voice was soft, concerned, and he added, “We can’t lose you, Katie.”

At her raised eyebrow, Shiro assured her, “We can’t afford to lose _anyone_ if we want to keep forming Voltron.”

“But?” Pidge pressed, crossing her arms in return.

Shiro blinked at her for a moment before his gaze softened.

“I can’t let you run off recklessly like that, Katie. I couldn’t live with myself if you ended up—”

Shiro paused, looking as though he was about to cry, and Pidge understood.

“Shiro,” she promised quietly, reaching to touch his human arm, “I’m not going to get myself captured without a fight. You should know that by now.”

“I just… Matt asked me to look out for you, if he didn’t make it.”

Now Shiro _really_ looked close to tears, and Pidge gripped his arm a little tighter, hoping to reassure him.

Before she knew it, Shiro was pulling her into a hug and her own tears spilled over as Shiro shook silently, his tears landing in her hair.

Pidge had no clue how long they stood crying like that, but she did know it had been healing for both of them when she pulled back and smiled, saluting her captain.

“I promise to not scare you like that again,” she vowed as Shiro smiled and met her salute.

“And I promise to back off a little. I didn’t realize until today how overly protective I was being.”

Both their hands back at their sides, Pidge grinned.

“You were being even worse than Matt. I’m going to tell him that when we find him.”

Shiro’s face paled and he yelped, “Please don’t! I’ll never hear the end of it!”

“Kind of the point, Cap’n!” Pidge replied gleefully, dancing out of his reach as Shiro called after her, “Wait! Pidge! Come back here!”

Laughing just short of maniacally, Pidge raced through the halls to the common area, where Lance and Keith gaped at her.

“So, uh, good talk then?” Lance asked cautiously as Shiro appeared in the doorway, frowning.

“Pidge, I’ve been chasing you all over the castle! Why didn’t you stop?”

Pidge twirled to look at him, her braid flying over her shoulder, and grinned.

“Matt’s gonna _love_ hearing how you _chased_ me all over the ship!” she practically sang, much to Shiro’s chagrin.

_“Pidge!”_

She turned to race off again, but Shiro reached out and caught the end of her braid, halting her escape.

“Pidge,” Shiro began, leveling a Look at her, “As your captain, I am ordering you to keep today to yourself after we find the Commander and Matt.”

Pidge tilted her head, affecting her own Look, and Shiro sighed.

“And as your friend, I am asking you to _please_ not embarrass me in front of your father and brother, who happen to be my friends.”

He looked so desperate and embarrassed that Pidge took pity on him.

“Fiiiiine. I won’t embellish the story.”

Shiro’s face brightened.

“ _But_ ,” Pidge continued, grinning as Shiro groaned, “In exchange for my factual storytelling, you have to stop following me everywhere.”

“I don’t follow you _everywhere_!” her captain protested, his face turning pink as he let go of her braid.

“Green’s hangar when she works late,” Lance chimed in, giving Shiro a shrug.

“To her room when you make her turn in for the night,” Keith added, oblivious to Shiro’s glare.

“And to the bathroom that one time she got sick,” Hunk recalled as he wandered in and flopped down onto the couch, joining the conversation easily.

“Heck, you’d probably follow Green around in battles if Allura didn’t help give orders,” Lance offered, earning himself a glare from the Black Paladin.

“And if _they_ notice, then my dad and Matt will _definitely_ notice, and probably ask questions,” Pidge assured him, crossing her arms.

“I’m just looking out for you!” Shiro proclaimed. “Like I look out for everybody on the team!”

“You don’t sit and wait for them at night,” Pidge pointed out, frowning.

“Because they don’t stay up until all hours and fall asleep in their Lions’ hangars!” Shiro cried, indignant.

“We’re also not girls,” Hunk blurted, his hand going to his mouth as soon as he’d registered the comment. “Did I say that out loud?”

Shiro froze, eyes wide, as Pidge raised an eyebrow.

“And we’re not Matt’s little sisters,” Lance added quietly, filling the silence with more awkwardness.

Shiro’s mouth opened and closed quietly for a second as he gaped at Lance, who shrugged.

“You’re the only one who ever calls her ‘Katie.’ It’s not that hard to figure out.”

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed quietly, “We can all tell there’s an extra-protectiveness vibe with Pidge, especially now that she looks so much more like her old picture.”

“I understand that you made a promise to Matt,” Pidge spoke up softly, drawing Shiro’s attention, “But that doesn’t mean you have to track my every move.”

Shiro sighed heavily, running a hand over his face before replying, “I just need to know you’re safe. Matt made me promise to keep you safe.”

“I appreciate that you’re keeping a promise, but in case you hadn’t noticed, I can take care of myself,” Pidge pointed out, one hand on a hip as she tilted her head at her captain.

“I know you can,” Shiro replied quietly, “I just… I guess I still worry about you the most of out of any of us, because you’re younger and you’re smaller, and yes, because you look so much more like the Katie that Matt and Commander Holt love so much.”

Pidge blinked, processing that, as Hunk piped up, “Hey, we love Pidge, too!”

“Yeah!” Lance agreed, throwing up his hands. “Did you forget that we’re a space family?”

“Everybody looks out for everybody else,” Keith chimed in, smiling.

“Like when we can tell you haven’t slept well and are stressed out and lash out at us when we make mistakes,” Lance said quickly, arching an eyebrow at their team leader. 

Shiro froze for a moment, his gaze swinging to Lance, who shrugged.

“Well, you didn’t seem like you’d gotten enough sleep last night,” the Blue Paladin explained, and Hunk nodded quietly.

“I mean, we know you probably don’t always get a lot of sleep,” Lance continued, “because the Paladin Bond and everything kind of says so, but you seemed especially stressed this morning.”

Shiro’s face fell as they all regarded him warily, Pidge rocking back on her heels to get a better look at his face.

“Shiro? It’s okay to let us know, out loud, when you’re having a bad day,” the smallest paladin assured her leader quietly, drawing his attention.

“The Bond hints at it, and Hunk feels it most out of all of us,” Pidge continued, “but it’s not always clear on the why. We need to be able to explain to each other why we feel certain things, especially when those feelings affect the whole team. We can’t always tell why you’re stressed just from the Bond. You’ve gotta share sometimes.”

“It’s okay to lean on us once in a while, Shiro,” Keith chimed in, pulling Shiro’s attention away from Pidge.

“Yeah, we’ve got good shoulders!” Lance piped up, grinning.

“We’re here for each other, you know,” Hunk reminded the room at large, and Shiro sighed.

“We’ve been out in space for _years,_ ” Pidge declared, spreading her arms. “We’re all stressed about things. But we can’t just bottle those feelings up all the time, not even you. We can’t afford for our leader to blow up like that again, you know?”

“We’ve found outlets for our stress,” Hunk pointed out, glancing at each of the others in turn. “I cook, and sometimes I talk to Lance about what I miss back home. Keith likes to train when he needs to think, and when that doesn’t work, he tinkers with the Coran-ic. Lance tells stories about his siblings on days he really misses home, or sings stupid songs. Pidge has robots and tech stuff, but when that makes her sad because it’s a reminder of home, we talk about movies that came out on Earth this year and how much we’re going to hate some of them.”

“But Shiro,” Pidge continued, and his gaze turned back to her, “What have you done to relieve stress? I’m betting nothing, because as leader, you think you have to be strong for all of us and don’t need an outlet. But you do. And you have options. Each of us would be happy to spar or talk or let you help us with something when you need to take your mind off of missions and nightmares.”

“We can start right now if you want!” Lance offered cheerfully, picking up a pillow. “Anyone up for a pillow fight?”

“You are _on_ , McClain!” Hunk announced, picking up two of the three pillows on his couch and throwing one directly at Lance, who ducked. The pillow hit Keith instead, and the Red Paladin joined the fray by tossing the pillow straight back at Hunk.

Thus the pillow fight began without Shiro, who still stood quietly in the doorway, gaping.

Pidge watched him for a moment, reaching out with the Bond to determine the Black Paladin’s thoughts, but was interrupted when a pillow whizzed past her face and collided with Shiro’s chest.

A collective “ohhhhh” went through the room as Keith and Hunk turned to stare and point mockingly at Lance, who looked slightly worried about Shiro’s reaction.

Pidge observed their leader carefully for another moment and then reached down to grab the pillow, which she held out to him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“Think we can take ’em, Captain?” she asked, relieved when Shiro grinned back and took the pillow from her and chucked it at Lance’s face.

“Two on three isn’t fair!” Hunk protested as Pidge and Shiro raced to grab more pillows, and Lance scoffed, “It is when it’s us against Pidge and Shiro!”

“Less arguing and more pillow throwing!” Keith interrupted, ducking a shot from Pidge, who grinned from across the room.

At this moment, neither gender nor hair length mattered. Her team respected her pillow-throwing ability and nothing else in this moment. And that made today a good day in Pidge’s book.

**Author's Note:**

> 42 seconds because "life, the universe, and everything."  
> I love the fanon that Hunk is the most receptive to feelings over the Bond, but also that they can all tell things from it.  
> I love the idea of Pidge growing out her hair again, mostly thanks to some fantastic fanart. I love the idea of Pidge not knowing how to braid her own hair and Lance teaching her.  
> I love the idea of each of them developing coping mechanisms beyond just their main hobbies to deal with stress.  
> Coran-ic. Because it rhymes with 'mechanic.' Or something.  
> ALL THE HEADCANONS.  
> Like I said I have no clue where half of this came from, it took a different turn than I planned, but I think I like where it ended up??????? Idk.


End file.
